Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, and thank him for taking the time to be with us. I appreciate that his colleague, Deputy Eamon Ryan, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, is abroad at COP26 but I wanted to take the opportunity to raise this matter. My colleagues, Deputy Harkin, Deputy Kenny, and the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and I all agree that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, seems to be on the verge of granting prospecting licences for gold-mining in north County Leitrim. As the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, will be aware, in 2019 we declared a climate and biodiversity emergency in Ireland. In recent weeks we issued our carbon budgets. The Minister of State's party leader is at COP26 this week to advance Ireland's co-operation on the global climate action strategy that will be required to stop prohibitive temperature rises here in Ireland.

Significantly, County Leitrim, in the north west of the country, is the only county where planning permission cannot be got at the moment because of soil quality.

Many efforts are under way to try to devise a sustainable solution that would allow rural farming families and their children to secure planning permission in the area.

The Minister of State will appreciate that it beggars belief that any party in Leinster House, much less the Green Party and its leader, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, would give prospecting licences to gold-mining companies. The company concerned, Flintridge Resources Limited, is connected to another company called Omagh Minerals Limited, which had a licence in this area previously. That company breached the guidelines it was to follow regarding informing landowners of prospecting and liaising with them in that regard. That was not done.

In addition, as I am sure the Minister of State is well aware, gold mining is the most disruptive form of mining. It can lead to contamination of the water table and it has led to cyanide, zinc and other chemicals entering the water table. In a parallel to what is proposed in north county Leitrim, our neighbours in county Tyrone have experienced a terrible situation with a company called Dalradian Resources. It was the subject of a BBC "Spotlight" programme that showed how the community there has been destroyed by the proposal to carry out mining. The key point is that Flintridge Resources Limited has the same executives as Omagh Minerals Limited. That company did not contact any landowners in the area in the past.

The people of north Leitrim have a vision for their county in line with the global vision for a circular economy. It is a vision of sustainability, one that nurtures and supports the rural economy with sustainable farming methods and secures a future for their families in the local area. It is not consistent with our actions, in advance of total agreement, debate and implementation of a directive on the circular economy from Europe, for us to proceed in this way with what is the most disruptive form of mining, namely, gold mining.

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